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E 510 
.P62 
Copy 1 



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A EEVIEW 



BY 



JUDGE PIERREPONT 



Sf 



"N. 



OF 



GEE BUTLER'S DEFENSE, 






BEFORE THE HDUS]^ OF R^PRES'EOTMIVES, 



0*1 • 



I>T REi ATlOy' TC:^ 



► 



THE NEW ORLEANS GOLD. 



• *-^-«.<5^*->— 




► 



NEW YORK: 
WM. C. BRYANT A CO., PRINTERS, 41 NASSAU ST., COR. LIBERTY. 

18G5. 



TTfTtTTTtTTTTryTTy V TTTTT T tTTTTTTTTyT V T Tfr TTTTTTT V TT V TTTTTTTTTTtT 



• •• • •" 
•• . • • 

* *• .* 1 • • 



E 5\0 



• -•■ .». 









To THE Il0N0K.iBr.E ScnUYLEK CoLFAX, 

Speaker of the House of Refrcsdntatives ; 

My attention has been called to the defence of Gen. 
Butler before the House of Representatives, in relation to 
the New Orleans gold. That defence, as published in the 
Globe, I propose to review, and leave you to say whether 
it is not an audacious sham which ought to be exposed. 

I am entirely certain that the very eminent and honor- 
able gentleman who conducted the defence fully believed 
that it was fairly made, and that there was a full, 
honest, and just exposition of the whole case. But he has 
been entirely misled, and Samuel Smith & Co., my clients, 
have suffered great injustice thereby. The counsel of 
Gen. Butler commences his defence of that gold trans- 
action by reading a letter from Mr. Rufus Wapples, dated 
May 12th, 186-1. The letter says :— " As I left the city 
{New Orleans) soon after the commencement of hostilities, 
and staid in Washington city till May of last year ^ I can- 
not speak from personal knowledge.''^ 

Says Mr. Boutwell, " I have caused that to be read as 
" furnishings hasisin evidence for the seizure of the money 
" in question." 

As the gold was taken a little more than two years be- 
fore, and as Mr. Wapples admits that he was not in New 
Orleans, but in Washington, and knows nothing whatever 
upon the subject In'mself, " that hasis in evidence '' looks a 
little " shaky." The structure was built two years before 
''Hhe hasis'''' was laid. The foundation has not even the 
firmness of moving sand, it is "airy nothing." A struc 
ture upon such a base will be likely to tumble, and some- 
body will ^'-get hurt''"' in the ruins. 

In the New York Court of Common Pleas the case of 
Samuel Smith & Co., agst. Benjamin F. Butler, will soon 
come on before the Court and a jury. Many living wit- 



nesses will be examined, and new documentary evidence 
will be produced. I bespeak your attention to that trial ; 
the proceedings will not be drowsy reading. Meanwhile, 
let me briefly review the case presented by General Bntler 
before the House. My excuse for this apparent intrusion is 
that I am Mr. Smitli's counsel, and from him Gen. Bntler 
took $50,000 in gold, and has kept it himself tlirough 
a period of two years and nine months, although Mr. 
Smith, by his counsel, proposed in writing simply that 
Gen. Butler "pay over the money to the War Office or 
" to the Treasury, and leave me to such remedy there as 
" the Government may think fit," which reasonable propo- 
sitions continued never accepted, but evaded and declined, 
imtil the 26th of last October, when the counsel wrote to 
the General — " You leave Mr. Smith no alternative but to 
" commence an action." General Butler, in his letter of 
the 28th of March, 18G4, excuses himself thus for not pay- 
ing over this money : — " When I settled my accounts at 
the War Oflice, the question of what should be done with 
this money of Samuel Smith & Co. came under discussion, 
and I then said to the Secretary of War 'that, as a lawyer, 
" ' I supposed that I might be held personally for the sum.' " 
Of course, " as a lawyer^^^ he knew that he was personally 
liable, and that was a good reason why he should pay it to 
the one to whom he was liable. But Gen. Butler, "as a 
lawyer," and as a man of common sense, well knew that, 
when Smith urged him " to pay over this money to the 
War Office or to the Treasury, and leave me to such remedy 
there as the Goyernment may think fit," that the payment 
of the money to the War Office or to the Treasury, as Smith 
proposed, would relieve General Bntler from all responsi- 
bility whatever. This appears in the record ; it cannot be 
evaded ; no subterfuge can dispose of it. This proposition 
of Smith to relieve General Butler, and to look to the Go- 
vernment for " such remedy as the Government may think 
fit to give," was made in writing March 26, 1864, was 
never Mithdrawn, and after seven months of subsequent 
and fruitless negotiation the letter of October 26, 1864, was 
written, saying, " You leave Mr. Smith no alternative but 
to commence an action." 

Why, during those seven months between the proposition 



and the commencement of this suit, did not General Butler 
pay over the gold to the Government, and thus relieve him- 
self and leave Smith " to such remedy as the Government 
might think lit?" 

There is no answer to this. Is it suggested that the Gov- 
ernment would not receive the money? 1 assert deliber- 
ately, and after careful investigation, that during that wliole 
time it was never otfered to the Government-; that tJjeydid 
not refuse to receive it ; and I will peril the whole case upon 
the truth of this statement. 

Instead of accepting this simple proposition of Smith's to 
pay over the gold to the Government, and thus relieve 
General Butler from all claim, the general kept the gold 
himself, devising new propositions, coupled with impossible 
conditions, and thus contrived to keep the gold from Mr. 
Smith and from the Government to the present hour. 

This will appear from the written documents which 
follow. 

This bold fact stands out, and refuses to be covered up, 
namely : That General Butler took this $50,000 in gold two 
years and nine months ago; that he has kept it ever since, 
and still keeps it, though Smith, as early as March 26, 1864, 
in writing, proposed that General Butler " pay over the 
" gold to the War Office, or to the Treasury, and leave me 
" to such remedy there as the Government may think fit ;" 
which offer was never withdrawn, but remained open for 
seven full months, and until the 2Gth of October last, when 
the counsel, tired out by the evasions and subterfuges of 
impossible conditions, wrote : " You leave Mr. Smitli no 
" alternative but to commence an action." General Butler 
still keeps the gold. Is it right that he should keep it? — 
Let us have that question settled. Officers in the army, 
from generals to corporals — the Government — the country — 
all have a lively interest in the disposition of this question. 
It will insist on being answered. Xo specious talk, in 
flurried debate, in an excited House, where not a man but 
the defendant himself knows a word of the evidence, can 
smother this question. It will rise up out of the smoke 
and insist on beincr answered. 

But there are other grave matters in this case which 
cannot be slurred over. I especially invite your attention 
to the dates of this 



HISTORY. 

The brilliant success of Admiral Farragut at New Or- 
leans enabled General Butler to enter the city on the 1st 
of May, lSf>2. On the same day the general issued his 
proclamation, containing the following solemn pledge : 

^''AU the rights of 'property^ of whatever kind., will he held 
" inviolate, suhject only to the laws of the United States. 
" All the inhahitants are enjoined to pursue their usual 
" avocations. All shops and places of amusement are to 1)6 
" Ice^pt open in the accustomed manner, and services are to 
" he held in the churches and religious houses, as in times 
^^ of prof ound peace P 

Mr. Smith, in accordance with the proclamation, opened 
his banking house for business. On the 10th of May, 1862, 
General Butler took from him this $50,000 in gold. Not a 
word was said to the Government about it until the next 
July, when General Butler, by letter, now on file in the 
department, wrote to Mr. Chase, then Secretary of the 
Treasury, excusing himself for not sending the gold to the 
Treasury, on the ground that he was obliged to use it in 
paying his troops. 

This letter is dated July, 18G2, and is now on file in the 
department. 

Subsequently Mr. Smith came on to Washington to ask 
the Government to repay him, having no suspicion that 
the gold had not been paid to the troops, as General Butler 
had written. 

1 was employed as counsel to present the claim, but 
was not able to give it attention till April. The Secretary 
of the Treasury examined the case and wrote as follows to 
the Secretary of War : 

" Treasury DErARTMENT, ) 
April 2d, 1863. j 

" Sir, — Application has been made to this department 
" for the repayment to Samuel Smith & Co. of $50,000 
" alleged to have been seized by General Butler at New 
" Orleans. 

"An examination of the report made to this department 
" by General Butler discloses the following facts : That 



" $50,000 in coin in the possession of Smith & Co. was 
" seized bj General Bntler, and hy him ajppro^riaied to- 
" wards the pay of the Army, and that the araonnt referred 
" to has never reached the Treasury of the United States- 
" Under these circumstances, the transaction being a mili- 
" tarj one, the jurisdiction of the case rests exclusively with 
" the War Department." 

Mr. Smith was a stranger to me, but he brought testi- 
monials both from gentlemen of New Orleans and New 
York, of the very highest character. Those high testi- 
monials have been subsequently confirmed in the most 
ample manner. 

On the 11th of May, 1863, Mr. Smith's application was 
made to the "War Department, and his long, fall, and 
minute deposition of all the circumstances was there filed 
and referred to the Solicitor, wlio made no decision upon 
the case, but suggested that to get the money an act of 
Congress or resort to the Court of Claims might be neces- 
sary. Mr. Smith having gone back to New Orleans I 
awaited his return. 

Meanwhile, learning that it was difficult to get money 
from the Treasury once paid in without an act of Congress, 
I prepared to apply to Congress tor sucii act, and early in 
February, 1864, I wrote to the Hon. Henry G. Stebbins, 
member from New York, stating the case, and asking him 
to see Secretary Chase and find exactly how the money 
stood in the Treasury. Colonel Stebbins saw the Secretary, 
who gave the matter his prompt attention, and I was tele- 
graphed to come to Washington. The Secretary then sent 
a clerk with me to go through tiie office of the Paymaster 
General and the other offices in which a record of the 
money must necessarily appear, to find on what account it 
stood. After a thcu'ouo-h investirjation of the accounts of 
every paymaster through whom the money could have 
been paid out to the troops, no such payments could be 
found. And on the second day, after a fruitless re-exami- 
nation, the officer in ciiarge of the Paymaster General's 
office, suggested that I write to General Butler, then at 
Fortress Monroe, and learn through what paymaster he 
had paid out this $50,000 of gold to his troops ; and 



6 

he then turned to a young clerk in the office and said, 
(addressing him familiarly by name,) " You must know 
about this gold, as you were in New Orleans at the 
time?" The young man smiled and said that he did know 
about the gold, and gave us to understand that we were 
wasting our time — that General Butler never paid a dollar 
of the gold to his troops ; that they were paid in paper, 
and there was no difhculty in tracing the paper from 
Washington to the paymasters, and Irom the paymasters to 
the troops. And thus was revealed to us for the first time 
the reason why we could not find how that gold got to the 
troops. The simple reason was, it never did get there; 
that was all. I had no personal acquaintance with General 
Butler, but through my hatred of the rebellion and belief 
that the General was of service to our cause 1 had been 
his defender, and hoping that there might be some possible 
mistake and that the General had not retained the money, 
I wrote him my first letter, as follows : 

"February 29th, 1804. 

"Dear Sir, — Samuel Smith, of Saratoga County, TSew 
York, formerly private banker in New Orleans, has a claim 
for $50,000 in gold used by General Butler in 18G2 for pay- 
ment of his troops in New Orleans. I write this in the 
Treasury Department with the letter of General Butler to 
the Secretary before me; it is dated July 2d, 1862. It was 
supposed by the Secretary that as the letter of General 
Butler stated that the money was used to pay the troops, 
that the credit for that $50,000 would be found in Pay- 
master-General's or Auditor's office. I have this day been 
over the accounts with the clerks, and no mention of the 
money appears. Will you do me the favor to say to what 
paymaster this money was given, and in what accounts this 
^50,000 should appear? I am the counsel of Mr. Smith, 
and the Paymaster-General suggests tliis as the quickest 
way to learn what paymaster had the money. Your letter 
of July 2d, 1802, only states the fact that the money was 
paid to your troops, without naming through what pay- 
master. 

" The accounts of Hewitt, Siierman, Locke, and Usher 
have all been examined, and we find no account of it. 
Will you do mo the favor to reply to this at my residence, 
No. 103 Fifth avenue, New York city, and much oblige, 

" Yours very respectfully, 

" Edwaeds Piekkepont. 

"Major-General Butler." 



Three days after I mentioned this matter to the Secretary 
of War, and learned to my surprise that General Butler 
claimed to retain the money, because " as a Lawyer he 
" thought he might he held liable to Smith i& Co.^ the 
" owners.''^ I then addressed the followinor to the General : 



'& 



" Treasury Department, ) 
March 3, lS6i. J 

"General, — 'When Iliad the honor to address you on the 
29th ultimo, I was not as well advised as now. As counsel 
for Samuel Smith & Co., whose $50,000 in gold was taken 
in New Orleans, and which matter you had referred to the 
Treasury, together with all the papers, I have had the case 
examined, and have produced Mr. Smith and had his deposi- 
tion with others taken here and filed. I had reached the 
point when I had supposed the money would be paid over, 
and the Secretary undertook to find to what credit it stood, 
and not being able to find out, at the suggestion of the 
Paymaster- General, I wrote to you. 

"Now I have just learned from the Secretary of War 
more about the matter. Will you do me the favor to in- 
form me who has the money, and to whom, in your judg- 
ment, I ought to look for it, and to whom it rightfully be- 
longs ? 

"I and, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

" Edwards Pierrkpont, 

" IG Wall street, New York. 
" Major-Gencral Butlek." 

I waited two weeks and no reply came to either of my 
letters, and I sent the following: 

"16 Wall Street, New York, ) 
March 15, 1864. ( 

"General, — Two weeks ago this day I wrote from Wash- 
ington to learn where the $50,000 in gold taken from Sam- 
uel Smith & Co., New Orleans, now is. I wrote with yours 
of July 2, 1863, directed to the Secretary of the Treasury, 
before me, in which you speak of this gold ; the letter is 
now on file with the report of Governor Shipley and others. 
I am Samuel Smith's counsel. Will you do n)e the favor 
to say what was the disposition of Mr. Smith's gold, where 
it is, and to whom, in your judgment, it rightly belongs ? 

" I also addressed you a second letter on the same subject. 
As I have no reply from either, I fear that you may not 
have received them. 



8 

" To avoid accident, I will send this in duplicate, and 
very respectfully await your reply. 

" Ever your obedient servant, 

" Edwards PiEKREroNT, 
" Counsel for Samuel Smith. 

" Major-General Butlek." 

By accident I met an earnest supporter of the Govern- 
pient, a brave and well known public man, who was on his 
way to Fortress Monroe. I wrote a few words upon my 
card, and asked him to deliver it to General Butler. 

On the 26th of March, 1864, I was honored with a reply 
commencing thus : 

" Headq'ks Dep't Virginia and North Carolina, ) 
Fortress Monroe, March 21, 1864. ) 

" Edwards Piekrepont, Esq. : 

"I am in receipt of your letter in regard to the money 
alleged to be of Samuel Smith & Co., bankers, at New Or- 
leans, up to the time of the capture of that city by the 
United States forces. As you are aware, I am in the field, 
and have, therefore, no books or papers with me relating to 
former transactions, and was obliged to wait -until I had 
examined some memoranda before I could make as full an 
answer as I could wish. This must be my apology for the 
delay in answering your letters. I am nnw without dates 
and amounts, but the facts and the order of sequence I am 
quite sure will be without mistake." 

******* * 



This letter is very long, and is all published in the Gen- 
eral's congressional defence, and charges Smith with hav- 
ing concealed the money, changed his books, tfec, but 
admitting that he, the general, has not paid it over to the 
Government. Mr. Smith's books are all open; anyone 
can look at them, and they will show for themselves ; and 
Mr. Smith assures me that thei'e is no foundation whatever 
for the statements about ernsures and entries of " tin, &c.;" 
that a daily blotter used by an eccentric clerk had the 
word "tin" upon it, which was a cant word for "cash" 
used by the clerk on his daily blotter, but that there is no 
such thing in the books, but it is entered " cash" in the 
usual way; and that the books now existing prove it, and 



tliat this very thing was explained to General Butler at the 
time, in New Orleans. 

Wishing to relieve General Butler of all responsibility in 
longer keaiVmg my clients' money, and urgent to get the 
gold into the Treasury in ample time to get a bill through 
Congress, if necessaiy, before adjournment, I forthwith 
wrote : 



"16 Wall street, jS^ew Toek, ) 
March 2Q, 1864. j 

" My Dear General, — I am very trulj' obliged by your 
satisfactory letter recrlved this hour. It fully explains the 
delay by which I liave been a little annoyed. Pardon this 
suggestion ; tcht/ not fay over the money to the War Office 
or to the Treasury^ and leave me to suck remedy there as the 
Government may thiiiTcJit f 

" They now say the money is not in their hands. Please 
let me hear upon this. 

" Very truly yours, 

" Edwards Piereepont. 
"Major- General Butler." 

No imaginable excuse for uon-compliance with this prop- 
osition has been offered. No honest excuse can ever Le 
offered. Compliance was a release to General Butler from 
all claims whatsoever, and the General well knew it. We 
did not ask that it be paid to Smith, the owner, but simply 
to the Government. The General, instead of accepting the 
simple proposition, comes back with the following evasive 
reply : 

" Headq'rs Dep't Yirginia and North Carolina, 

Fort Moneoe, March 28, 1864. 

*' Dear Sir, — Your note of the 26th instant is received, 
and I am glad to be able to answer it speedily. I am much 
obliged for your suggestions. When I settled my accounts 
at the War Ofhce, the question of what shall be done with 
this money of Samuel Smith & Co., came under discussion, 
and I then said to the Secretary of War, that as a lawyer, 
I supjjosed that I might be held ])ersonally for the sum, and 
that if he would give me an order to pay over the money to 
the War Ofhce in such form to release me from the respon- 
sibilit}' if hereafter called upon by Smith & Co., I should 
be glad to pay the money over. He doubted whether this ' 
could be done, and suggested the money might lie in my 



10 

hands until the Department was called upon for it, and 
tliat a proper luemorandnm should be put on file, so that 
Smith & Oo.'s rights, if they had any, shouhl be preserved 
as well as my own. There is no difficulty in dealing with 
the money now in the same way. 

" If the War Department directs an order to me to pay 
the money either into the Treasury or continfjent fund of 
the Department, and Smith & Co., actin^^ under your ad- 
vice, will give me a, memorandum stating that such pay- 
ment shall relieve me from personal responsibility, J will 
give a draft for the amount on the Assistant Treasurer of 
the United States that will be honored at once. 

" I think it but right, however, that my first letter to yoii 
stating the facts of the capture of the money should be laid 
before the War Department for its information before any 
order is made on the subject, transferring the funds to 
Smith & Co. 

"I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obe- 
dient servant, 

" Benj. F. Butler, 
" Major-General Commanding." 

Hoping that I could hold him to his own suggestion in 
some form, I replied as follows: 

"16 Wall Street, New York, April 1, 1864. 

" My Dear General, — I am very glad to receive your let- 
ter of the 2Sth of March. I am not one of your enemies. 
That matter will now be adjusted, and I will write you 
some statement of facts of which it is evident you are not 
apprised. Immediately after the seizure of the gold, Smith 
came here; he was born in Saratoga county, where his 
motlier now lives, and he has been with her here, and in 
Washington, most of the time since. 

" IJe employed Senator Roverdy Johnson and myself as 
liis counsel ; as the younger man, I have been the more 
active. The report of the coiiimissioners which you ap- 
pointed clearly established beyond all controversy that the 
gold belonged to Smith, The commissioners so report; 
and the evidence returned with the report abundantly estab- 
lished tlie conclusion. 

" These i)apers, with your letter of July 2, 1862, are now 
in the Treasury Department, and I have complete copies of 
them all. I took Mr. Smith to AVashington, and his depo- 
position was taken at great length, and is now on file with 
the other papers. Mr. Smith is a Yankee, born of a Yan- 
kee, bred a Y^ankee, has taken the oath of allegiance, and 
is as true and loyal as you or I. He has not been in Canada . 



11 

at all ; lie tried, in the fright and terror which prevailed in 
Now Orleans, to save his ])roperty in part. Dr. Merce^r, 
who acted on the commission, is now here. lam truly ^lad 
that this matter is ahont to be adjusted. Not every one 
who has been in the case Ims the same desire to have it 
quietly settled as I liave. My own view about the case is 
this: I tliink it qnite clear that yon could not successfully 
resist a suit in Kew York brought by Smith to recover 
whatever damages he can ])rove. 1 thinh the true xoay to 
settle it is for you to pay Synith and talie a release, with the 
assent of the War JDepartment. If you agree %oith me I 
will see that it is done in such a way as you shall say is 
liberal and just. I await your reply. 
" Ever truly yonrs, 

^' Edwakds Pierrepont. 
" Major-General Butlee." 

To this I received the following still more evasive 
reply : 

"April 4, 1864. 
" M}^ Dear Sir : Tca^i only repeat my offer that whenever 
the War Department toill order the money paid over to your 
client, and he shall give me a release, my draft for the 
amount will be forwarded. I am glad to hear that Mr. 
Smith is loyal. His convei'sion I trust is sincere. For 
yourself, I tliank you for your expressions of kindness and 
confidence, and while they are very gratifying indeed to 
one who has been so much maligned as I have been, yet 
you will see in this transaction I have so lived as to defy 
my enemies. Allow me, my dear sir, further to say that, 
^ Ex uno disce omnes.^ For a while you will confess to your- 
self that you doubted my action in this business. I am as 
willing that evei-y act of my official life shall be as thoroughly 
investigated as this may be. Therefore you will see tiiat, 
while I am obliged for the friendly feeling which prompted 
you to desire the case ' quietly settled,' still if those who 
desired otherv/ise had had their way I should have been 
as well pleased, because conscious of having endeavored 
to do my duty. An attack upon me in this case would have 
fiiiled, and thus answered a thousand others to which no 
reply can ever be otherwise made. Upon the point of law 
which you suggest, pardon me if I differ with a lawyer so 
distinguished as yourself. I do not believe that a military 
commander in a captured city, taking money (contiaband 
of war) which might be used against that officer's arnjy, 



12 



from an alien encmy^ can bo held liable for the capture as 
a trespass ibr the tort for not returning upon demand which 
miojit sustain trover after the enemy became a friend 
and capacitated to sue. I am inclined that having paid the 
money to his Government would answer the demand. It 
was to avoid this after-questiofi, hoivever, (/ had no douht 
on the first,) that I hesitated to pay the money to the Govern- 
ment. Still 1 am rusty at the law, and ray opinions are 
not now, if they ever were, worth much. 
" You re truly, 

" B. F. Butler." 



Wo did not expect tlie War Department to order General 
' Butler to pay Smith ; we asked that Gen. Butler ^ay ^/^^ 
Treasury or the War Department, which he would not do, 
but replied by a proposition to pay Smith, coupled with 
conditions, which he well knew the War Department could 
not comply with. The General says at the end of the 
above Letter, " It was to avoid this after Question, that 
I hesitated to pay the money to the Government." 

To avoid something^ the General has " hesitated to pay 
the money to the Government^'' to this very hour. 

He has hesitated for two years and nine months, and still 
hesitates', he also hesitates to pay it over to Smith & Co., 
the owners ; he does not hesitate to keep every dollar of 
this Gold himself. 

I deliberately cliarge that neither the Secretary of the 
Treasury or the Secretaiy of War ever refused to accept 
this money from General Butler; that he did not take it or 
retain it by the order, or at the request of any Secretary of 
the Treasury or of AVar. It was the General that " hesi- 
tated to pay the money over to the Government" and not 
the Government that " hesitated to receive it. The Secre- 
taries are both living. Let the General call upon them in 
this matter. 

I now call yonr attention to my reply to the above, and 
which reply the General carefully suppresses — in his pub- 
lished defence. Why it was suppressed will be apparent : 



13 



New York, 16 "Wall street, 
May 4, 1864:. 
" Major-Gen. Butler : 

"Dear Sir, — Since yonr proposition to pay over to Smith 
& Co. the $50,000 upon order from the Secretary of War. 
I have seen the Secretary, and have just returned from 
Washington. The Secretary first tliought that there was 
no objection, but upon consultation with Mr. Whiting, he 
concluded thai as the money never came to the War De- 
partme7it, and as it vjas never tal'en hy any order of the 
Department^ and as General Butler had retained it on the 
ground that he might ho ■personally liohle if he paid it 
over; the Department wonld take no action ivhatever as 
to the payment of the money. I think the Department 
acted wisely. I do not see what business the Department 
has with the money which you hold and not they, and 
%ohich they have never had, and which theg never author- 
ised to he taken Smith was with me ; tlie Smiths both 
live in Ballston's Spa, N. Y., where they were born ; they 
long since took the Oath of Allegiance, the amnesty oath, 
and are ready to take any others required — they are as 
loyal as you or I. I propose this ; send your draft for the 
money to any one in New York in whom you trust, to be 
paid over on full release. Or let any one appear for you, 
and yon may have an amicable suit in any Court in New 
York, United States Court or State Court, as you please. 

" This is not a hostile but a friendly proposition, as any 
one will tell you. Otherwise, you force me to a suit by 
long publications in the newspapers, as you are not resi- 
dent. 

" I await your reply, and am 

Truly yours, 

" Edwards Piekrepont." 

P. S. June 4. — " I retained the above, because the 
General was in the Field ; but your letter of last evening 
in the New York Express, causes me to hope for an answer 
to this. 

Yours, trul^'-, 

" E. P." 

Th.e General read this letter, as his replies of October 8 
and 28, both prove, but he still " hesitated''^ to part with 
the Gold ! He " hesitated" to accept any possible practi- 
cable proposition or suggestion which would relieve him 
of th;} gold. He " hesitated" to answer this letter until 
the 8th of the next October, and then wrote making excuses 



u 

for delay and repeating his impracticable propositions. 
My courtesy, which I had tried to have delicate, as well as 
patient, grew a little weary, and I wrote the following : 
— " Enclosing a Summons." 



16 Wall street, 
October 26, 1S64. 



\ 



" My Dear Sir, — You leave Mr. Smith no alternative but 
to commence an action. It is not necessary there be any 
publications in the papers if you will authorize any attor- 
ney to appear for you, but otherwise it is necessary. 

I do not wish any ]iublication unless vou wish it. Please 
let me know your attorney at once, if you have one here. 

Truly, Edwaeds PtERREroNT. 

Major-Gen eral Bdtler. 

The following is his reply : 

Headquarters near Yarna, ) 
October 28, 1804. J 

My Bear Sir, — Your note inclosing the summons and 
comi»laint in the case of Mr. Smith and Brother was received 
last evening in the field. 1 hasten to answer. 

Although not a resident of New York or amenable to the 
juiisdictions other Courts, so that a sunmions could hardly 
bring me in, yet I shall at once acknowledge service and 
instruct my attornej^, John K. Ilackett, Esq., to make an- 
swer. Having done this, I shall rely on your courtesy to 
allow me a little time to go to Washington to make the fol- 
lowing disposition of the cause. When you desired me to 
assent to a friendly suit 1 could make no answer to the 
proposition, hecause as an otlicial I could do nothing in any 
way to compi-omise the rights of the United States. Now, 
however, your proceeding i?i invilum leaves me in a differ- 
ent situation, because, although I am acknowledging ser- 
vice, still as I must come to New York and can hardly 
travel 'hico(/.., you could obtain sei'vice, and therefore with- 
out prejudice a suit nuiy be considered fairly begun. 

I will now a])ply to the War Department, and ask the 
GovcriHn(»nt to assume the defence ; if that is done, then I 
have no further interest in the matter; if not, then I am at 
liberty to arrange with your client, or contest the suit as I 
choose, and am left free to negotiate about a matter in 
which 1 can have no personal interest except to save my- 
self fri ni cost. So soon, therefore, as I can get away, which 
I hope to be in a few days, 1 will nu\ke answer, or will 
meet you as you prefer, and be able to state exactly my 



15 



position on this subject. Of course, the suit, if it goes for- 
ward, will be removed into the Courtsof the United States. 
You will not need to be told that these suggestions do not 
proceed from any desire to delay your clients ; but, in fact, 
to further their interest, if tliey have any. You will ])lease 
answer me at once whether this course will meet your con- 
currence. 

As to the publication, I beg leave to repeat to you that I 
can have no objection to any person knowing erery fact con- 
nected with this transaction. Tlie most exaggerated stories 
have been told about it privately, from which lam sufler- 
ing ; but what can I do about it that I have not done. 

Eespectfully, 

Bekj. F. Butlee, 



Hon. Edwards Piereepont. 
I replied as follows : 



Major-Geueral. 



10 Wall street, \ 
November 2, 1864. ) 

My Dear General, — Yours received, and satisfactory. 
You have been a general since you were a lawyer, and 
when you speak of jurisdiction I think you have not read 
our recent statute. 

\Ye have a way to gQi jurisdiction not like the old way ; 
but that is no matter. I will show you when we meet. 
Your proposition is satisfactory, and I shall confer with 
your attorney. 

I send you my speech. 

Yours, 

Edwards Pikrrepont. 
Major-General Butler. 

This reply is published in the Globe, before the letter to 
which it relates — any one who can read, will see that 
the words "yours received and satisfactory" relates to Gen. 
Butler's attorney, and to the future conduct of the suit, and 
yet it being inserted before the letter of Gen. Butler, has 
led the newspapers to say in their comments that I liad ex- 
pressed myself perfectly satisfied with the General's course 
about the gold. The whole defence before the House, par- 
takes of the same cluiracter. It seems got up for effect 
upon an excited house in au excited hour, when Smith had 
no advocate, and no hearing. 

The action being commenced, the General then hesitated 
about his answer, and commenced delays by a motion to 



16 



remove the cause out of the State Court, which holds a term 
monthly, to the United States Court, which has but two 
terms for the trial of civil causes in an entire j'ear. 

On the 6th of November, I received a friendly note from 
tlie General, expressing a desire to see me at the Hofi'raan 
house in New York — on the 8th I called — we soon reached 
the matter of the gold. The General said, that if the 
Government did not assume the defence, he would adjust 
the case fairly, I met him once afterwards ; he then said 
that he was going direct to Washington, that he would see 
the Secretary of War, and have the matter settled up. I 
was quite satisfied, and parted with the General in the full 
belief that tardy justice was about to be done to my client. 

The General departed for Wasliington on Tuesday, Nov- 
ember 15th, and on Thursday morning, under the head of 
telegraphic news from Washington, appeared the following: 

{From the Tribune.) 

GEN. BDTLEk's gold. 

The copperhead attachment for General Butler's New 
Orleans gold will have to penetrate the vaults of the 
United States Treasury before it will be forthcoming, every 
dollar being in the keeping of that department. 

{From the Times.) 

THAT GOLD. 

Concerning the attachment applied for against General 
Butler, in New York, on behalf of the parties in New 
Orleans, to recover $00,000 in gold, seized by General 
Butler in that city, it is proper to say that the gold refer- 
red to is in the Treasury of the United States, and that the 
plaintiffs must seek redress, if they feel aggrieved, against 
the government, and not General Butler. 

{From the Herald.) 

THE ATTACHMENT AGAINST GENERAL BDTLER. 

The parties who have brought suit in New Orleans 
against General Butler for gold seized in New Orleans, 
will find that it is the government, and not the individual, 
they have a claim against. The gold in question was con- 
demned by a military commission as the ]}T0ccefls of the 
Tohhery of the United States Mint in N'eio Orleans^ and 
was accounted for to the War Department, in whose cus- 
tody it has since been. General Butler has at all times 



ir 

been ready to pay over the money claimed whenever an 
order of the War Department should be presented. 

And on the following morning, in the Tribune, appeared 
this also : 

Special Dcsjoatch to The JV. Y. Tribune. 

Washington, Thursday, Kov. 17, 186i, 

THE WAR OFFICE OFFEEED TO GENl.KAL BUTLEK. 

"The physical prostration of Secretary Stanton rendering 
his withdrawal from the War Otiice inevitable, the Presi- 
dent, according to a wide-spread and strongly fortified de- 
sire, tendered the position to Gen. Butler yesterday in per' 
son. It is understood that the general, for the present at 
least, declined the honor, and left for more active opera* 
tions at the front." 

Mr. Smith's gold hopes drew dim. If this was the tind 
of settlement the general intended to make, we felt that 
we had been a little " Jmmhuggedy The world was given 
to understand that this Smith was a " copperhead," 
bringing an outrageous suit against General Butler for gold 
of which Smith had robbed the United States Mint, and 
which the General had restored to the vaults of the United 
States Treasury. It would also appear that this worthy 
act was appreciated, as " the President had tendered the 
office of Secretary of War to General Butler in person'^-^ 
a rough kind of " settlement" that, Smitii thought. His 
gold, the toil of years, had been taken away by force, and 
now it was publicly charged that " the gold was the pro- 
ceeds of a robbery of the United States Mint," 

I was in Washington the next day, and found that not a 
dollar of the money had been paid over, and that the whole 
fabrication, from the beginning down to the statement that 
" the President yesterday tendered the position of Secre- 
tary of War to General Butler in person," was exactly what 
Lieut. General Grant and Admiral Porter publicly stated 
of Butler's Fort Fisher Eeport, 

|i^ The motion to remove the cause was pending. I applied, 
to General Butler's very capable and honorable counsel, 
Mr. Hackett, to get the motion adjourned, and twice I got 
it adjourned. My object was to give ample time to have 
these libels upon Mr. Smith retracted^ l^o corrections wero 
2 



18 



made. I sent for Mr. Smith, and told him to make a full 
Btatement of the fixcts— such as he could swear to — such aa 
would stand every test in future. 

No one who knows ]\[r. Smith will doubt his statements, 
whether under oalli or not. He is a man of established 
character, well known. 

He made an aflfidavit, which was read in Court, I made 
ft few remarks — not quite so courteous as my letters, which 
were read before Congress. General Butler lost his motion. 

This is the affidavit : 

" Cou'rt of Common Pleas for the City and County of 

Kew York. 

" Samuel Smitli and Andrew W. Smith vs. Benjamin 
F. Butler. 

" City and County of New York, ss. : 

" Samuel Smith, one of the plaintiffs above named, being 
duly sworn on solemn oath, deposes and says: 

" That some twenty years ago he left the county of Sara- 
toga, in this State, where he was born, and where his 
mother still resides, and went to New Orleans, without any 
means but youth and hope, to seek for better fortune. By 
severe economy, constant toil, and the unremitting industry 
of long years, he and his brother Andrew togetlier, suc- 
ceeded in acquiring a considerable property, and they 
became extensively engaged in the business of private 
banking. Their very business compelled them to make 
constant advances of money on Soutliern credits. Y/hen 
the war broke out they were extended, and it was not pos- 
sible for them to collect in their claims without much de- 
lay. The State of Louisiana seceded — deponent opposed 
the secession, and quietly remained to liquidate his afi'airs, 
and save what ho could. It is easy for those ^'tho 
were safe in the North to talk bravely about their patriot- 
ism, and to boast of what they would have done ; but had 
sucli been where we were they might have thought differ- 
ently. 

" On the 24th of April, 1SC2, news cnme that Admiral 
Farrngut had passed the lower forts. The greatest con- 
sternation prevailed. All who had any money wished to 
conceal it. The fear was of the wild mob and the soldiery, 
in case the city should be given up to pillage. Deponent 
had about sixty thousand dollars in gold coin in his safe, 
whicli he had been collecting together, and which he had 
hoped to save. In this fri-htful consternation, deponent 
took ^54,000 of the gold coin and secreted it in the air 



19 

cells around his safe, and left about $6,000 of his own lil 
the safe, besides a small amount belonging to some of his 
customers. Admiral Farragut's success left New Orleans 
at his mercy, and General Butler entered the city on the 
1st of May, and the rebel soldiery fled, and there was no 
pillage of the town. Forthwith General Butler issued his 
proclamation, dated May 1, 18G2, and directed every man 
to return to his business, and promising the fullest protec- 
tion, and expressed himself in these words : ^All the rights 
of 'property^ of whatever kind., loill he held inviolate, subject 
only to the Icnos of the United States. All the inhabitants 
are enjoined to pursue their usual avocations. All shops 
and places of amusement are to he kept open in the accus- 
tomed manner, and services are to he held in the churches 
and religious houses, as in times of profound peace."* De- 
ponent did not suppose that this solemn proclamation by a 
general of the United States was intended as a delusion 
and a snare, and opened his banking house in the fullest 
confidence that the general would not violate his plighted 
faith. The secreted coin could not be reached without 
tearing down a wall of masonry, and deponent being un- 
willing to excite notice by tearing down a heavy brick 
wall jind withdrawiiig the coin, when the city was in such 
a fearful state, let it remain for a few days to await events. 
General Buller soon began to examine into the affairs of 
banks, bankers, and men supposed to have money, for what 
public end no one could understand. 

" On the 10th of May General Butler ordered deponent 
to open his safe, vv^hich he did ; but the general finding but 
six thousand dollars in coin in the safe,while deponent's books 
showed sixty thousand dollars in hand, demanded the con- 
cealed coin, which deponent refused to give up, telling Gen. 
Butler that it was concealed, and the object of the conceal- 
ment, but declining to reveal the place where it was secreted. 
The general then ordered deponent to prison, and threat* 
ened to confine him in Fort Jackson until he revealed the 
place of concealment. Deponent was powerless, without 
the protection of law, and at the mercy of despotic force. 
After being imprisoned in the manner above described, 
deponent revealed the place where the gold was secreted. 
General Butler tore down the masonry, and carried off the 
fifty-four thousand dollars in gold, besides the money in 
the safe, and after a few days he returned to deponent the 
six thousand left in the safe, and four thousand dollars of 
the concealed coin, keeping fifty thousand dollars in gold, 
which he has retained from deponent to this hour. The 
general then let deponent go, despoiled of his hard-earned 
property, and with his business broken up and destroyed, 
and now when deponent seeks in a lawful way to obtain 



20 

redress, lie is met witli tliese f^ilse telegrams from Wnsli- 
inp;tr)n. The statement that ' this gold was condemned by 
a triilitary commis:;ion as the proceeds of the robbery of tho 
United States Mint at New Orleans' is without a shadow 
of truth, is uttei'lj malicious, and is in evcij syllable basely 
false. Every dollar of it belonged to the plaintiff. It was 
the ])roceeds of long and patient toil ; not a penny of it ever 
belonged to the mint or to any confederate state office or 
depai'tment thereof, and the military commission so found j 
and the one who ordered that false telegram sent knew or 
ought to have known it. Deponent makes this affidavit 
with a true co]">y of that commission and report before him, 
Tl.at commission was coujposed of three able and upright 
men — Governor Shiple}'', lion. Thos. J. Durant, and Di\ 
Mercer — and their report was made in June, 1862, and 
proves the shameless falsity of these slanderous telegrams, 
"Deponent took the oath of allegiance — the amnesty 
oath — and is as ti'ue and loyal a man as he who by mili- 
tary force has taken away deponent's property. Deponent 
respectfully submits that this false charge about a copper- 
head attachment, and these false and slanderous charges 
that deponent's gold ' is the proceeds of a robbery of tho 
United States Mint,' published in the newspapers through 
telegrams from Washinejton while General Butler was 
there, and for the purpose of deceiving the public, and of 
prejudicing their mind, before the trial of the cause (which 
cause bad been legitimately commenced under the oi'der of 
this court), deserved the rebuke and severest condemnation 
of every judge and right-thinking man in this community. 
* 4f a * * •>{• •}, 

4fr ******* 

(Signed) Sam Smith. 

Sworn to this 29th of November, 186i, before me, Fred. 
Smyth, Notary Public, New York. 

The suit was coramencod in October, 18G4-. Did the 
General then propose to pay the money into Court or 
to the Government? Not a bit of it. But contriving a 
new devise by which to retain the money in his own hands, 
he wrote to the Solicitor of the "War Department the fol* 
lowing very persuasive letter : 

HEArQ'RS Dep't YlRGINlA AND NoRTH CAROLINA, ) 

FouTRKss MoNROK, Va., Novcinbej' 28, lS6Jr. J 
My Dear WnnlNG, — I inclose herewith to yon a note to 
the Secretary of Wnr, in relation to tho matter of Samuel 
Smith & Co*, bankers at New Orleans, 



21 

1 iJiinTz it a dear case for a test question^ and hope the 
Government will defend it. Pleaso brino: the paper to the 
notice of the Secretary, and get his permission to allow me 
to publish the note in my own justification. 

Although somewhat thick-skinned to newspaper attacks, 
yet some of mv good and true friends are writing me that 
I ought to explain the facts, and I know no better way to 
do so than by such publication. 

If I may rely upon those friendly relations which exist 
between ns, upon yoii to procure this to be done, you will 
add another to the many obligations under which I am to 
yourself. 

By the by, why do you not come to the " front" and see 
how war is actnully carried on ? I will give you a "plate 
and a blanket." 

Yours, truly, Benj. F. Bdtlek, 

Major- General. 

Hon. William Whiting, Solicitor of the War Department. 

The avowed object of this letter was to get the Govern- 
ment to defend the suit. 

He says : " 1 think it is a clear case for a test question^ 
and hope the Governmerit will defend it^'' 

A test of what? and why did he wish the Government 
to defend it % 

It seems that he wished, not only that the Government 
shonld defend the suit, but that the Government should in- 
demnify him also. 

The Government r<^used^ and replied to him as follows J 

Wae Depaetment, Washington Cnr, ) 
December 6, 18Gi. j 

General, — I am instructed by the Secretary of War to 
inform you — 

First. — That yonr communication dated at Fortress Mon" 
roe, November 2S, and addressed to him in relation to the 
claim of Samuel Tmith & Co. against you, was referred to 
the Judge Advocate General for opinion and report on the 
question of indemnity you ask for. 

Upon that reference, the Judge Advocate General re- 
ports : 

" The question of indemniJiGation cannot he determined 
at this stage of the 'proceedings. Should there he a judgment 
against the applicjnt his rights to he indemnified against it 
will depend upon the character of his conduct^ considered 



22 

i7i all its hearings, wJiich has given rise to the suit. This 
will be best understood when examined in the li<rht of the 
testimony which will be produced on the trial. If the ap- 
plicant acted within the scope of his power, fairly inter- 
preted, his claims to protection against the results of this 
suit should be allowed. The fact that he has retained the 
gold seized and now holds it, suhject to the order rf the Gov- 
ernment^ is not considered as affecting the right obligation 
involved^ 

This report is approved, and will govern the action of the 
Department upon your request for indemnity. 

Second. — In relation to your request for leave to publish 
your letter to the Secretary of War, the Secretary directs 
me to say that no objection is made by the Department to 
your publication of any statement in regard to the claim of 
Smith & Co., which you may deem essential for your vin- 
dication. 

Third. — In reference to the information given by you to 
tne Department, a copy of your memorandum in relation 
to the gold of Smith & Co., seized by you, liled with your 
accounts and vouchers in the War Department, is hereto 
annexed. 

I am, general, very respectfully, yaur obedient servant, 

E. D. To\ViS:sEND, 

Assistant Adjutant General. 
To Major- General B. F. Bdtlee. 

The Government declined to aid the General in longei* 
keeping Smith's gold ; and yet the General still holds on 
to it. Parting with $50,000 of gold, long kept, seems to 
be attended with reluctance ; — perhaps it is natural. Take 
$50,000 of another man's gold — keep it two years and nine 
months without giving security to any one — use it as your 
own ; let it rise to 285, and a natural affection springs up 
for the increasing treasure not to be severed without a pang ; 
Natural affections are to bo respected ; but Mr. Smith has 
also a certain lingering attachment to that gold — the honest 
earnings of many long and weary years. Mr. Smith is not 
a rebel ; he is a true JS'orthern man ; when a boy he went 
from Saratoga county down to N"ew Orleans to better his 
humble fortune; he oi)posed secession with all his power ; 
when it came, he did as ho best could, gathered in some- 
thing of his property, put it into gold, hoping to save it, 
and to reach his old home where his mother still lives. 



23 

The next step in this history was Gen. Butler's defence 
before Congress, which we have already reviewed. 

I nnderstood Gen. Butler to suggest, in his defence, that 
gold was not above par in July, 1862, when it was said he 
paid it to his troops. Gen. Butler's letter to the Secretary of 
the Treasury, in which he states that he shall pay the gold 
to the troops, reached "Washington about the 19th of July. 
Gold was then 20 per cent, above par ; on the 10th it was 
18, and as early as the 3d it was over 10 per cent, premium. 
And Gen. Butler's letter of July, now with the Secretary, 
shows that he then knew that gold was more valuable than 
paper. Since Gen. Butler has had this gold it has sold as 
high as 285. Whether the General sold it at these prices, 
or whether he has kept this identical gold, we know not, 
but we are willing to take the chances of his shrewdness 
and to receive exactly the proceeds. I suspect that the 
Government will not like to establish the precedent that a 
General can seize another man's gold and keep it himself, 
on any pretext or for any private speculations. 

The grievances charged in this case are these : 

Firet. — That in violation of his proclamation and with- 
out authority of law, Gen. Butler took $50,000 in gold from 
Smith & Co., in Kew Orleans. 

Second. — That this gold was the property of Smith & 
Co., acquired by honest industry. 

Third. — That Smith & Co. were northern men, engaged 
as bankers in New Orleans, La. Tlieir business was ex- 
tended, their credits in that State of necessity were long. 
They opposed secession with all their power, and when 
secession came upon them they tried to gather in their 
property as best they could ; That, being northern men, 
they were more liable to suspicion, and were, of course, 
compelled to be very circumspect. That when a safe op- 
portunity offered, they gladly took the oath of allegiance, 
and the amnesty oath also. That they concealed the gold 
to keep it from the mob, wliich it was supposed would 
pillage the city if Admii-al Farragut passed the forts, and 
this concealment was made a pretext for seizing the gold 
by Gen. Butler. 



24 



Fourth. — That Gen. Bntler lias not paid ont this gold to 
his troops, but has retained it. (It is quite likely that Gen. 
Eutler left the gold for a time in the safekeeping of a paj- 
master; hwt i\\Q j^oint is, that the gold was returned to the 
General and not paid out to the troops. 

Fifth. — That Gen. Butler did not take the gold, nor has 
he retained the gold, by any order, authority', or direction 
of the Secretary of the Treasury or of War, and that he 
did not pay it over to the Goveruinent as Mr. Smith 
requ stod. 

Sixth. — ^That so gross was the wrong to Smith & Co., 
and so clearly were they entitled to this money, that even 
General Butler's own Commissioners found that Smith & 
Co. were the owners, and wrote to the General, advising a 
restoration of the money, which has never yet been restored. 

Seventh. — That Gen. Butler took this gold on the 10th 
of May, 1862, and did. not report it to the War Department 
until February of the following year ; and then reported 
that Smith & Co. were " active rebels^'' and '' hesitated " 
to pay it over to tlie Government, lest these " rebels " 
sue him ; to whom, " as a laioyer^'' he thought he might 
be liable ! 

Some years ago a gentleman, eminent for his piety, 
travelling on the Upper Nile, and lingering too late to 
gather relics from the shores of that ancient river, was 
seized by Arabs ; and, to save his life, was compelled to 
outwardly adopt the religion of Mahomet. When he 
escaped to a christian land he hastened to worship with 
more grateful devotion than before at the shrine of The 
Saviok. Did not God forgive him % ! 

Many a loyal man, lingering on the banks of the Missis- 
ippi to gather in his effects, was caught unawares and 
obliged to seemingly acquiesce in that hated rule. My 
client was one. At the earliest safe hour he returned to 
the home of his youth and to renewed allegiance to the 
government of his love. 

"^Tis pitiful, to hear men whose religion and whose 
patriotism has not been tried, talk so harshly of every fel- 



25 

low-man who, by temporary and seeming acquiescence, 
eaved himself and his children from martyrdom. 

When I foresee the bloody troubles through which our 
country has yet to pass ; when I perceive the increasing 
difficulty of recruiting the armies which will surely be 
needed ; when I see a General, fretted at the loss of power, 
trying by farewell order and by public speech, to make 
our soldiers believe that the best Generals will but lead 
them to uselessly bloody graves, and thus discouraging our 
brave and saddened people ; and when I see this same 
General, through an honest member, palm off upon an 
honest House what 1 know to be a sham, I feel impelled 
by something higher than personal considerations to raise 
my voice against it. 

The General, in his communication with the Secretary of 
War, excused .himself for not paying over the money to 
the Government, on the ground that, " as a lawyer^"* he 
thought he might be held personally liable, in a Court of 
Justice, to Smith & Co., who, as he wrote the Secretary,, 
" were active rebels." Gen. Butler, " as a laimjer^"* knew 
that " active rebels " could not sue in our Courts. Either 
he did not believe that Smith & Co. were " active rebels," 
or his excuse for not paying the money to the Government, 
through fear of recovery by them, was a sham. The next 
device to retain the money (after Smith proposed " that 
" he pay the money over to the Treasury, or the War De- 
" partment, and leave him to such remedy there as the 
*' Government might think fit "), was to require an 
"Okder" from the War Department. The General knew 
that the Government could not give " Orders " about 
every trespass, or otlier violation of municipal law, which 
every officer might commit. That would be assuming that 
the act was lawful. The Government receive money, or 
other property, turned over to it by any of its officers, but 
it will not, and it cannot make " Orders " about it, which 
assume that the act was either right or wrong. There has 
been no time in which Gen. Butler could not have turned 
over this money to the Government, as he well knows,, 
^hy does he keep the Gold f 
3 



26 

These facts cannot be denied ; namely : That without the 
least authority of law Gen. Butler took this gold and has 
kept it two years and nine months and still keeps it ; 

That Gen. Butler's own commissioners found that the 
money belonged to Smith & Co., and desired to restore it; 

That Mr. Smith supposing that Gen. Butler had paid the 
rgold to his troops, as indicated by the general's letter, ap- 
plied to the Treasury and found, to his surprise, that Gen. 
Butler had the gold ; 

That forthwith Mr. Smith, by his counsel, proposed in 
writing to Gen. Butler that he pay the money over to the 
Treasury or to the War Department and leave Mr. Smith 
to such remedy as the Government Tnight think jit to give 
him. 

That the General (to use his own words) " hesitated'''' to 
pay it to the Government and refused to pay it to the 
owner, and by various devises has contrived to retain it 
to this time, and without security either to the Government 
or to Mr. Smith, and with the full use of this $50,000 of 
gold during a period of two years and nine months; 

Upon these facts an honest and intelligent people will 
pass a just judgment. 

Each man in his sphere, however narrow or extended, 
will find that his fellow men, (whether he will or no) weigh 
his character and his abilities often ; and unconsciously 
stamp him with their estimate, and that the average resul- 
tant of these frequent estimates is just. 

If General Butler shall finally succeed in keeping Mr, 
Smith's gold to himself, he will find it an uncomfortable 
possession ; and as his showy carriage rolls by, his honest 
townsmen will look up, and think of the boy who from Sa- 
ratoga county went down to New Orleans in search of 
better fortune, and whose $50,000 in gold, the proceeds of 
patient toil, and the industry of long years, was taken from 
him by General Butler. And some humble, pious neighbor 
may say to the rich general : 

" Your gold and silver is cankered ; and the rust of them 
■*' shall be a witness against you, andshall eat your fl-esh a* 
•** it were fire." 



27 

Gen. Butler still keeps the gold, or the proceeds at 285^ 
if he sold at the highest price. 

Is IT EIGHT? That is the question — and I am trulj 
youra 

EDWARDS PIERREPONT, 

Counsel for Saml. Smith <& Ch. 
New York, February 10th, 1865. 



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